Tag: Space medicine

Space calls! Join a world-class Aerospace Medicine Residency Program for an out-of-this-world introductory course in Aviation and Space medicine in Houston*

Apply now for the 2019 opportunity

*ONLY open to physicians students enrolled on our International Diploma and MSc program at the University of Exeter Medical School.

(Not enrolled on our Diploma and MSc program? Don’t fret – WEM and UTMB are collaborating to provide more opportunities for 2020, so keep your eyes peeled for more information).

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to join the University of Texas in Houston, Exeter University Medical School and World Extreme Medicine for a month of immersive learning with unparalleled access to Johnson Space Centre.

WEM has negotiated a limited number of places on the renown month-long ‘Principles of Space and Aviation Medicine’ course run by UTMB; a fantastic opportunity for anyone interested in the now GMC recognised speciality of Space Medicine

What more could you ask for? With unprecedented access to NASA’s Johnston Space Centre this opportunity enables a fully-immersed experience that will not only take you to Houston for a month but within the beating heart of space medicine; personally experience astronaut testing programmes, hypo- & hyperbaric chambers, in-flight countermeasures and the neutral buoyancy lab. Networking opportunities are included and will, of course, be out of this world.

The course is a month of intensive learning with several away days.

What we would expect of you: Mainly, to enjoy it! But we’d also need you to take notes and update us on the breakthroughs in space medicine (you’ll know before we do!). We’d also like you to take plenty of pictures, send some tweets and write a couple of reports on your return tagging both WEM and UEMS. If we’ve inspired you to pursue space medicine, then there’ll be plenty of opportunities with us in the coming years too.

Dates: From 24 June – 19 July. You are required to attend the full duration of the course.

Cost: The course costs $500 – $1500.

You will also have to add on accommodation for a month and flights to Houston but the PASM team will help you by introducing to other courses members so you can share accommodation, lifts etc

The genetic secrets of a species of frog that hibernates for months could hold the key to safer space voyages, say scientists.

Researchers from the University of Queensland, headed up by Extreme Medicine speaker Professor Craig Franklin, say that ability of the burrowing frog species Cyclorana alboguttata to maintain muscle mass while dormant could help overcome the problem of astronaut’s own muscles deteriorating during long trips in zero gravity.

(c) The Independant

Although floating weightless in space is something many would-be astronauts dream of, this unique environment takes its toll – leaving muscles drastically under-used and causing a number of health problems from tendonitis to fat accumulation.

With a manned mission to Mars taking anywhere between 39 and 289 days depending on how close the planet is, astronauts would certainly benefit from anything that ensured they were in top physical condition upon arrival on the planet’s surface.

Scientists studying the frog say that that one of its genes known as ‘survivin’ could help. When faced with droughts in their native Australia, the frog survives by burrowing underground and covering itself with a cocoon of shed skin.

This keeps them relatively insulated from harm – but the survivin gene is necessary to protect them from their own bodies. Cells have many different ‘suicide mechanisms’ but one in particular kicks in to remove matter that is apparently damaged – something it judges by long periods of inactivity. Survivin stops this from happening.

“If we can understand the cell signalling pathways that confer resistance to muscle wasting, then these could be useful candidates to study in mammalian muscle atrophy,” said PhD student Beau Reilly in a press release.

“These could help to develop therapies to treat bedridden human patients or even astronauts, who frequently lose muscle tone when exposed to reduced-gravity conditions.”

This sort of research could be even more important for journeys into space further afield than Mars. If scientists can’t develop faster propulsion technology in the future then even travelling to nearby stars could take tens of thousands of years.

“I am fascinated in animals that survive in extreme conditions” said Miss Reilly. “I think humans and modern medicine could learn a great deal from organisms such as burrowing frogs”.

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